ferry lago general carrera- advance booking?

is it possible to book the ferry crossing of lago general carrera to chile chico in advance of travelling to s america? or is there an office for sotramin in puerto ibanez? collecting car from balmaceda, dont want to have to go to coyhaique and then backtrack if its not necessary; but dont want to find the ferry full...

cheers
gregor

humm, good question, Gregor, as you are picking a car (rental I suppose) you will drive inmediatly to Ibañez, as is a private car and the priority is for buses and trucks, there is some possibilty you could be posponed to a next crossing,

better do (or try) a phone reservation
here the info
Ferry Chelenco
Info and reservations
phones in Coyhaique, +56 67 233 466
in Chile Chico +56 67 411 864

Ferry Pilchero (more confy)
Info and reservations
phone in Coyhaique, +56 67 234 240

thanks- i've seen a photo of the ferry, looks like it wouldnt take much to fill up the space on it...!

you mentioned another company- are there 2 ferries running...?

do either have an email address...?

thanks
gregor

the ferries (2) are small, but consider two crossings per day each one, the region is thinly populated. Sorry I don`t know the mails
However, I have a question, if you are moving by car, why the hurry to cross the lake, you are missing one of the best parts of Carretera Austral, the track Cerro Castillo (with a lot of treks there) Ibañez and Murta Valleys, the superb Exploradores Valley, the fly fishing town of Bertrand, from there you can reach Chile Chico by Las Llaves pass. i remember you did a lot question about this unmissable pass.

hi fernando,

hoping to do a circuit: cross the lake to chile chico, then loop back around to coyhaique on the carretera austral. get the best of both worlds.

you say there are two crossings per day for each- the information i had was that there was only one crossing each way, and only on certain days, leaving from puerto ibanez at 9am- is this still correct? is there a later crossing too?

thanks

gregor

sorry, one crossing per day each ferry, if you are moving by there independently, do the south leg of CA, until Villa Ohiggins (don't miss Tortel)